


Call Me Big Red

by astorywithnoend



Series: homosexual the musical the series (oneshots) [2]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, M/M, Trans Big Red (HSM: The Series), Trans Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astorywithnoend/pseuds/astorywithnoend
Summary: Alyssa Redonovich and Rachel Bowen went through everything together, including transitions and first loves.
Relationships: Big Red/Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series)
Series: homosexual the musical the series (oneshots) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622812
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	Call Me Big Red

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a lot of trans big red recently and had this idea and just had to write it!!

Big Red wasn’t always named that. He was born as Alyssa Redonovich, a tomboy with long, messy red hair. She loved skating at the local park with her friend Rachel Bowen. Rachel had big curly brown hair and the most beautiful eyes Alyssa had ever seen. Alyssa and Rachel were always together, sometimes with their friend Nini.

One day when they were both eight, Rachel called Alyssa’s mom and asked if Alyssa wanted to go to the skatepark, saying she had a surprise for her. Upon hearing the invitation, Alyssa grabbed her board and helmet and ran out the door. She happened to be wearing her favorite outfit today, a mint green long sleeve shirt and orange basketball shorts. Her board and helmet were both matching shades of red.

Rachel was already at the park, looking a bit different than usual. Somehow, she had gotten all of her hair under her blue helmet. She was also wearing slightly baggier clothes, probably belonging to her older brother. “Hey, Rachel, you ready to skate?”

“In a minute,” Rachel looked down and then back up. “I need to tell you something, Red.” Alyssa had always loved Rachel’s nickname for her. She looked at her, tentatively. “My name isn’t Rachel anymore. It’s Ricky.”

“You can do that?” Alyssa was shocked. She had always hated her name for being too girly.

“Nini’s moms were talking to me about it the other day. Oh! Almost forgot this part.” Ricky took off his helmet to reveal his newly cut hair. His curls were all perfectly placed, even though he hadn’t put any effort into it. “I’m a boy now.”

Alyssa didn’t know what to think. Was she proud of him? Jealous? She could only hug her best friend at that moment. “I love you, Ricky.”

Ricky smiled really big, “I love you, Red.”

A few weeks later, Ricky, Alyssa, and Nini were all at Nini’s house. They all began playing around the house and Alyssa scraped her knee. Nini’s moms took her into the kitchen to clean her up as Ricky and Nini continued to play. Alyssa had been wanting to ask the two a question for a while now and this was her chance. “How come Ricky gets to be a boy?”

Dana and Carol looked at each other before Dana answered, “Ricky was sad when he was a girl. He hated his name, he hated when people called him ‘she’ or ‘a girl’. Ricky is transgender. That means he was born as a boy in a girl’s body.”

Alyssa started to think. She hated being called Alyssa. She hated when her family made her wear a dress to Synagogue. She was jealous of Ricky’s short hair and how he could so easily be himself. “I think I’m a boy, too.”

Carol rubbed Alyssa’s arm, “And that is definitely okay.” The two had been wondering if Alyssa was trans since they met the two best friends, and once Ricky realized it, it was only time before Alyssa followed suit. “We should talk to your parents, but is there a name you’d want to be called? It doesn’t have to be your name forever, and you don’t have to go by a different name if you don’t want to.”

Alyssa immediately knew the perfect name, “Call me Big Red.”

~~~~~

Over the years, Ricky and Big Red were still tied at the hip, even through their transitions. They both got binders at the same time, Ricky waited a week to start testosterone so he could start with Big Red. They were always the best of friends, but Big Red could never forget how beautiful Ricky’s eyes were, or how he felt when they were together.

In high school, Ricky and Nini started dating. This wasn’t a surprise to Big Red, but he had that same confusing mixture of emotions that he had when Ricky came out to him. Was he proud of him? Was he jealous? When Ricky and Nini broke up, Big Red was happy, for some reason.

One day, Ricky and Big Red were at a party with the rest of the theatre kids and Ashlyn asked an interesting question, “Have you two ever kissed?”

“No, no, no.” Ricky stumbled to answer, “I was always dating Nini, or we were literal children.”

“Interesting…” Ashlyn made eye contact with both of them before going over to Kourtney to hatch a plan. A little while later, Ashlyn got everyone’s attention. “We will now be playing truth or dare. Gather round!”

Everyone sat in the living room and started the game. Carlos had to eat a spoonful of mayo. Seb had to kiss Carlos with tongue after he ate the said mayo. Nini had to let Gina put lipstick on her blindfolded. Ashlyn had to tell everyone about the time the sink backstage exploded onto her and she had to do the rest of the show in a crew t-shirt. Then, Ashlyn picked Big Red. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” Big Red said with a fake sense of courage.

“I dare you to kiss the person to your right.”

Big Red turned and comprehended that he had sat next to Ricky. Nini, Ashlyn, and Kourtney all shared a knowing look, as did Seb and Carlos. Big Red and Ricky looked at each other, tentatively. Finally, Ricky took the plunge and kissed him. The feeling of kissing his best friend was better than any kiss Ricky had with Nini. Big Red had never kissed anyone, but he felt the same cliché fireworks. They finally separated and went back to the game, not so subtly holding hands the rest of the night.

Big Red asked Ricky if they could go to the skatepark after the party to talk. They went to the spot where Ricky had that surprise for Big Red all those years ago. “I think I’ve been kind of lying to myself for a while now, and after that party I’ve finally realized.” Ricky looked at Big Red, with slight confusion and some hopefulness. “I want to be more than friends.”

“Dude, we’re already best friends, have been our entire lives.”

“You can be really stupid sometimes, Rich.” Big Red grabbed his best friend and kissed him. Ricky finally got the picture and kissed back. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

“I want to be your boyfriend, too.”

“I love you, Ricky.”

Ricky had the same goofy smile he had all those years ago. “I love you, Red.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments always make me smile :)


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